Washington Watch

By Dr. James J. Zogby Thirty-six years after Reverend Jesse Jackson first welcomed Arab Americans into his Rainbow Coalition, the 2020 Democratic primary contests held thus far have seen Arab American communities across the country courted by a number of Democratic presidential candidates. The community’s involvement has become an accepted fact....

By Dr. James J. Zogby Israel just completed its third national election in less than a year. The first two votes in April and September 2019 ended in an impasse with no party able to form a governing coalition of 61 Knesset Members (i.e. a majority of the 120-member body)....

By Dr. James J. Zogby “Mike will bring us together," is one of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign slogans, invoking his claim that, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he brought New Yorkers together. The "together," however, did not include hundreds of thousands of New York's...

By Dr. James J. Zogby Earlier this week, a comment by Senator Bernie Sanders about Israeli policy and Palestinian rights and the resulting condemnation of his remarks by a pro-Israel group of Jewish Republicans opened a window into this issue’s state of play in both American and Israeli politics....

By Dr. James J. Zogby Across the Middle East and North Africa, 2019 provided an eventful end to a tumultuous decade. There were unsettling developments on multiple fronts, to name just a few, there were: popular uprisings in Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq; international intervention in civil conflicts raging...

By Dr. James J. Zogby In January, the Israeli daily newspaper, Haaretz, ran an article, “Secret Israeli Document Reveals Plan to Keep Arabs Off Their Lands.” I found the piece unsettling for several reasons. Given the headline, at first I thought the story was going to be about Israel’s...

By Dr. James J. Zogby Much has already been written about the Trump Administration’s release of its long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. I will not repeat the criticisms. Instead, I will focus on what I found to be the striking and disturbing parallels between this Trump “Deal of the...

By Dr. James J. Zogby While popular protests in Iraq and Lebanon have been clearly directed at corruption and worsening economic conditions, there is another factor that should not be ignored – widespread frustration with the role played by Iran and its allied militias in both countries. This Lebanese...

By Dr. James J. Zogby Thirty-two years ago this month, I was arrested sitting-in and blocking the entrance of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. The Embassy was hosting an event that evening in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Looking back at what we did that day, I'm confident...

By Dr. James J. Zogby Despite its claims of making America more respected and feared in the world, the Trump Administration’s behaviors have only contributed to accelerating the decline in America’s leadership. President Trump’s demonstrated disdain for international agreements and law, his erratic behavior, and his reckless tweets, have...